Telephone voice silencer



Oct. 4, 1938. L. s. SCHER TELEPHONE VOICE SILENCER Filed Feb. 15, 1937 13 INVENTOR LOU/5 5. SC/1E2 TTORNEY Patented Oct. 4, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TELEPHONE VOICE SILENCER Louis S. Scher, New York, N. Y.

Application February 15, 1937, Serial No. 125,837

2 Claims.

This invention relates to voice muiliers or silencers for telephones of the hand set type and is particularly adapted for use in conversing confidentially in the presence of others.

Previous attempts to provide a mufiier for use on a hand set telephone have fallen short of successful commercial adoption and the main reasons for this failure are that such devices which were provided for the purpose were heavy, cumbersome, and impracticable to use because they either required removal from the telephone instrument before said instrument could be replaced on its natural support, or required shifting from their normal position on the instrument before said instrument could be conveniently replaced, or the instrument itself had to be rotated in its cradle to permit of its removal therefrom and replacement thereon.

In seeking to provide a practical mufller of efficient design and one which could remain associated with the telephone instrument at all times although removable at will, the invention contemplates the provision of a muffler having a foldable body which will seek a collapsed condition when out of use so it will not interfere with placing the telephone instrument on its support, and which may be expanded or extended to afford a voice chamber of proper size when in use.

Another contemplated feature of the invention resides in the provision of a muffier having a relatively rigid, preferably moulded portion for engagement with the telephone mouth-piece and' for supporting sound absorbing means, and a pliable body portion removably fixed thereto, said body portion normally seeking a collapsed condition but capable of being expanded when in use.

With the above general features in mind, and others later apparent, the invention, as at present contemplated, may be realized in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawing and described in the following detailed specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a partial front elevational view of a hand set type of telephone to which is attached a muffler as herein contemplated.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view, partly in crosssection, of the muflier shown in Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the muffler in its extended condition when in use.

In greater detail, a telephone support is shown at 5, said support being formed with a base 6. At 1 there is shown a hand set telephone instrument which is provided with a transmitter 8 at one end and a receiver (not shown) at the other end. It will be noted that there is an overlapping relation between the transmitter and the base when the instrument is on the support and that only a, small amount of clearance is provided between said transmitter and both the base and the surface upon which the telephone rests. It will be apparent from the above that mufliers of previous design could not be accommodated in the space allowed and therefore had to be either removed before the instrument could be placed upon the natural support, or, as previously stated, shifted from their normal position on the instrument, or the instrument itself shifted to permit of removal from and replacement on the cradle.

In carrying out the invention, it is preferred to provide a rigid member 9 in the form of a moulded plate of substantially oval contour. The plate is preferably formed with an opening Ill forming a seat for the transmitter which may be frictionally held in the seat or removably secured therein by clips, detents or other such means. The opening I0 is preferably formed at one end of the plate and the remaining portion thereof, on its inner face, is provided with a cavity II in which is positioned sound-absorbing material such as the felt pad I2.

The plate 9 is also formed with a lip or bead I3 which follows the contour of the plate for its major portion and blends into a groove or rabbet I4 at the end of the plate adjacent the support 5.

The body I5 of the muffler is preferably formed of a pliable material such as rubber, leather, or the like and has the respective portions I6 and II for cooperative association with the lip I3 and groove I4 whereby said body may be removably attached to the plate 9. The body is provided with an opening I8 formed by the rim I9 to which the lips of the user may be applied to direct the voice to the transmitter 8.

While the body I5 may be otherwise arranged to be folded, the present preferred form, which is illustrated, provides for a fold at 20 and an oppositely directed fold at 2| so that the material of the body in effect forms a zig-zag Wall at a point opposed to the opening I8. Thus, when the body is folded, its height is such as to permit placing the telephone instrument upon its support as shown in Figure 1. However, the chamber formed by the body in this condition is too small and also improperly shaped for the use to which it is to be put. Therefore, when in use, the user expands the body and hence the voice chamber by grasping the clip 22 and straightening the formerly zig-zag walls of the body as shown in Figure 3. When said clip is released, the body will resume its initial folded condition.

The walls of the body may be of uniform thickness, but at the folds, the thickness of the material may be reduced, as shown, to afford more pliability to the body. Also, lateral folds or pleats 23 may be formed in the body to provide for complete expansion of the body. The clip 22, in addi tion to serving as manipulating means, also, because it clamps over the fold 2|, acts to cause the body to fold inherently.

In use, the device acts in a manner similar to my previous construction, as shown in my Patent No. 2,020,970, dated November 12, 1935, and as disclosed in that patent, means such as the holes 24 are provided in the plate 9 to prevent blasting and to permit free circulation of air in the voice chamber. In addition, the chamber I8 of the present form of the invention, is of such commodious design and shape as to present, when the body is expanded, an improved voice chamber of high efiiciency.

As can be seen from the foregoing, a simple and highly efficient device for the purpose intended has been provided in one form of its embodiment. Since skilled persons may make many immaterial changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed, only the prior art should be employed in interpreting the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A voice muffler comprising a substantially rigid approximately oval plate having an opening for the reception of a telephone transmitter, said plate being also provided with a cavity, sound absorbing material in said cavity, a normally folded pliable body, and means on both said body and said plate having operative association for removably attaching said body to said plate.

2. A voice mufiler comprising a substantially rigid approximately oval plate having an opening for the reception of a telephone transmitter, said plate being also provided with a cavity, sound absorbing material in said cavity, a normally folded pliable body, and means on both said body and said plate having operative association for removably attaching said body to said plate, said means including a lip and a rabbet formed on said plate, said lip and said rabbet blending into each other.

LOUIS S. SCHER. 

